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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Launch of Radio Mewat

We are happy to announce the launch of Radio Mewat by SMART NGO. Though still at its testing stage we have started broadcasting a two hour program twice a day. It will be inaugurated and launched formally later this month. The frequency allotted to us is 90.4 FM. Our broadcast timing is 8am-10 am and 3pm to 5pm. The transmitter and Antennae was provided to us by UNESCO and was procured and installed by NOMAD India. The radio is headquartered in Nuh, the administrative block of district Mewat, a recently carved out district of Haryana.

About Mewat:Mewat is an extremely backward area and marginalized district in the state of Haryana. Just 75 km away from the national capital it is seeped in poverty and illiteracy. Lack of potable water, health facilities, sanitation and hygiene are some of the concerns of this area. The radio could be an important tool for inclusive development and could assist in increasing the participation of the community in the process of development through information dissemination.

With its headquarters in the administrative town of Nuh, Radio Mewat will reach out to a niche target of roughly 4 to 5 lakh people. The Radio will have a reach of 15km (radius).

For a district like Mewat the community radio could play an important role- first in informing and then in helping access the information for self development. Acquiring knowledge is the first step toward change, whether this change is social, economic, cultural, legal, or political. Information is the catalyst, fuel, and product of this process of transformation that can stimulate change and a desire to change. With an agenda to include the excluded population the Community radio can be a unique and innovative tool for development.

The radio will help in disseminating information and will meet the objective of supporting "developmental and promotional activities" with a view to securing greater inclusion, particularly among weaker sections, low income groups and in backward regions. Radio Mewat is broadcasting programs on the local issue, the recently held Panchayat Elections, locally popular songs sung by the Mirasis, commmunicable diseases like swine flu, dengue etc.The District Collector, Mr CR Rana, has been very supportive and has always encouraged creative mediums for informing and educating the masses.